Dragonflies on the Water
by Haruyuki
Summary: Collection of drabbles, mostly written in response to challenge communities on LJ. Features an assortment of characters and pairings.
1. Foresight

_Disclaimer_: Inuyasha and characters therein are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and therefore not mine.

_A.N._: As written in the summary, this is a collection for short to medium-length drabbles, mostly spurred by various LJ challenges, that I've liked well enough to save but don't fit anywhere else. That said, the first one here was done for iyficcontest's "Betrayal" theme, and features a slightly naive/out-of-touch Tsukuyomaru.

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_**Foresight**_

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He looks upon the father he has not seen in decades, thinking him to be still proud, still relentless, still the epitome of tradition. An ageless leader that is, if not indulgent in, than at least not unreasonable towards the opinions of his son. 

And thus does the son in question deign, for the first time, to argue the case of a human wife and a half-demon child.

Hollow-sounding are his words they dash against the chamber's interior, and although determined they dissipate under the silent scrutiny of many. Sea lolls plunge outside, an underlying dissonance of justice immutable. Jagged, sepulchre-like walls stand stoic and somber in opposition.

Hollow, too, are his father's eyes as they acquiesce, after the slightest consideration, to the plea. To him they are a source of only renewed respect, torrential relief. He bows and turns away, satisfied, knowing once more that Father is still reasonable, still powerful, only misinformed.

Unforgiving talons rend armor and flesh in the work of a second. Death is excruciating, but mercifully, almost instant. Almost.

There is time enough, barely, for him to know that his father is a liar as well.

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	2. Dire Circumstances

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Summary: Written for a "Water" challenge over at LJ. Slight spoilers for chapter 350 of the manga.

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_**Dire Circumstances  
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Water had always been too clingy for his tastes. It took cursedly long to dry. It weighed down clothing and caused hair to clump in the most ungainly fashion. In beings of lesser constitution, it caused disease without the slightest rationale. He was thankful that he remained unaffected by that particular detriment. 

He'd also never understood the point of swimming in it, when one could just as easily treat it as another obstacle to be crossed by more efficient means – flying, for example. Even _if_ he happened to develop the sudden inclination to do so, swimming would be doubly impractical now, seeing as he had only one arm.

Behind him, the river persists down a waterfall and meets hard bedrock. It is uninterrupted in its incessant cacophony save by twin splashes that, really, he ought have foreseen. These are understandably followed up by wails even more jarring to the ear, originating near the middle of the capricious blue expanse.

He sighs inwardly as he leaps from the solid and luxuriously _dry_ bank. Even if he secretly welcomed the excuse to act, he had _never_ appreciated water.

Jaken would have to be made aware of it.

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	3. Knot Theory

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_Summary_: Kagura weighs the pros and cons of dedication. Spoilers for chapters 367-368 of the manga.

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_**Knot Theory  
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Kagura thinks that some things always sound better in principle. Loyalty is one of them. 

Granted, Naraku's expectations upon that subject are probably the exception to the rule. Not that it makes any difference, in her opinion. To be loyal comes down, more-or-less, to blind obedience of idiots who are rarely ever sure of what they want. Forgo your own thought process, so that commitment and so-called duty snake along and take hold like ropes.

Until a thousand different knots hold you immobile, while a well-placed one closes about your throat.

Her fan unfurls in the direction of a set of confused, fearful brown eyes. Their owner stumbles awkwardly backward, across rocky terrain. Moments ago, he'd probably still thought of her as a companion in disloyalty.

She tries to focus on nothing but the Shikon shard ingrained his back; reminds herself that she is beholden to nobody and bound by nothing. Except she knows that it's not true, because always, always, she has been wrong.

Behind them, she feels Hakudoushi smile in that infuriating way of his, knows that he is throwing that same plethora of ropes at her feet. There they lie, lifelines in disguise. Choose carefully, unwillingly, and she might elude entanglement just a little while longer. But suddenly, she is tired of it all.

A turning of the fan, and Kagura completes the first knot herself.

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	4. Misdirection

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Summary: I think the challenge that produced this was one for an "unhappy ending", although the latter here is only implied. Spoilers for episodes 152-153 of the anime and the corresponding manga chapters.

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_**Misdirection  
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Mesmerized by the movements of the chain scythe through night air, it takes him a second to remember that i>he /i> is the one directing the weapon. In its meandering arcs and fluid expositions, he finds a sense of loss as deep as his own. 

The scythe had accompanied him to the castle at a time when he had resembled more-or-less a particle cast adrift. Now, it rends two demon birds that had been swooping upon a guard, just as a woman with a glaive keeps another off his – Kohaku's – back.

Somewhere, somehow, he remembers what it was like to stand with other people like this.

The others, still safe, turn to him with faces that speak of genuine gratitude. Standing in the middle of the smoldering complex, it occurs to him that his lack of past is of little consequence.

_Here_ and _now_ were all that mattered, because through them and the people currently around him, he is able, again, to see value in himself. For reasons irrelevant to the battle still at hand, he feels a surge of something he cannot describe.

Belonging, perhaps, for the first time in months.

Or else, a sense of warmth. One completely unrelated to the sea of fire that currently held the small group of survivors in its midst.

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